Derek Acorah, TJ Higgs and Colin Fry

OK! joins the three mediums for lunch at The Old Crown to talk spooks, psychics and spirits

By Anonymous

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

If you want unfaltering proof and the chance to receive a message from your lost loved one, or you’re simply intrigued to see if people can truly communicate with the dead, then you might want to make a connection with a very special trio of people – Derek Acorah, Colin Fry and TJ Higgs, aka The Three Mediums, who are about to combine their astonishing psychic talents in one electric live touring show. The tour launches on April 18 with a special celebrity event at London’s Hammersmith Apollo, which will air next month on television. In the meantime, we decided to ask a few probing questions of our own, so we set up a spooky soiree with Derek, 59, Colin, 47, and Tracy (TJ), 39, at London’s stylish Old Crown pub and restaurant, just a stone’s throw away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street…

Three psychics for the price of one - the guys joined us for a tasty lunch

How old were you when you had your first spiritual experience? Derek: When I was six, I saw a man standing in the doorway of a bedroom in my grandmother’s house. He walked over to me and I felt his hand over my head. He told me to go downstairs and tell my gran. It wasn’t until I was nine that my gran finally told me it was my grandfather, who died two years before I was born. She showed me his photograph and I realised it was him. I was told he wouldn’t be coming again. Gran was a medium, as were women before in the family, and when I was about 11 she told me I’d broken the mould – the first male medium in the family.

The guys are about to go on tour together

Colin: I remember when I was about five or six, my parents had some visitors one day, and I was playing quietly with my toys and a woman came in who I’d never met before. I said to my mum when the woman left: ‘Why was that lady ignoring the little boy with her?’ and she said: ‘What little boy?’ And I said: ‘John.’ My mum got a box down from the cupboard with some photos and she said: ‘Do you mean this little boy?’ and I said yes. She told me that was her friend’s son, who had died five years before I was born. That was one incident that particularly stuck in my mind. TJ: When I was very little and I lived with my mum, my great-granddad died, my pops, and when he died I could still see him. It was always: ‘Don’t talk about that, we don’t have that in the house.’ My mum was raised a Catholic so you can imagine her thinking her child had become part of the devil! I was only two or three. But I was always with my pops. My mum worked and I was always with him at my nan’s house.

PAN-FRIED SEA BASS ON A BED OF MINTED VEGETABLES

Did you ever resist your psychic skills? Derek: Yes, when I was a youngster all I wanted to be was a footballer, and I did play for Liverpool FC for a while under Bill Shankly. But I was always seeing things and pushing them back. Eventually I embraced the gift of receiving evidence from the other side. Colin: I continued having psychic experiences – when I was ten I saw my grandfather a year after he died. My mum realised when I was about 13 that this was something that wasn’t going to go away so she started to helping me to develop it, and later an elderly medium in Brighton called Agnes started helping me. I’ve been a working medium for 31 years.

RACK OF LAMB WITH DAUPHINOISE POTATOES

TJ: I didn’t realise I was a medium until I was 30. Once I started looking at my gift, as people call it, my childhood made sense – things that I’d seen when I was very little all came together. For example, I could see energy particles in the air and I thought everybody could see that. I certainly never intended going on TV. That was Colin’s fault! He persuaded me to join him on Psychic Private Eyes.Colin, have you actually solved murders on Psychic Private Eyes? On Psychic Private Eyes, we have given people closure, and it’s not necessarily about catching the murderer – it’s about working with those families and bringing evidence from their lost ones. What you see on TV is normally the evidence of the murder, but we also do readings for the family privately.

ETON MESS

What do you say to sceptics and non-believers who accuse you of being fakes? Derek: I’ve found that the longer you go on, your shoulders spiritually broaden. They’ve been at you for such a long time that it’s an accepted part of what we do. I’ve always said that a sceptical mind or a cynical mind comes from a very distant point of view. Take journalists who point the finger – they may be sitting in an office somewhere, or they’ve heard someone sceptic talk about it, and then they’ll write it up. Colin: I coined a phrase a few years back – other people’s paranormal is my normal. It’s just something that’s been there all my life. I don’t set out to give proof, what I do is give evidence. Only the recipient can decide for themselves if that’s proof. For those who believe, no evidence is necessary, and for those who don’t believe, no evidence is ever enough. __BREAK6__ TJ: The thing is, I know what I know. I don’t try and prove it to everyone. We give evidence, we don’t give proof. We’re not here to prove anything. It’s the evidence that will tell. So as long as my clients keep coming to see me, and as long as I’m doing a good, honest job, I’ll carry on doing what I’m doing. I gave up a very good career to do this – I was a Sage accountant. How do audiences react to your live tour performances? Are they readily forthcoming to stand up and relate to your evidence? __BREAK7__ TJ: Audiences are very different. I find that up north, people are much more up for it when you talk about some evidence – for example, I might say I’m getting someone’s dad who had a heart attack. The energy up north is much more vibrant. Southerners are quieter, more reserved. They need a bit of encouragement to come forward. Derek: I can go along with that to a certain degree. The people in the south, it’s not that they’re not so open, it’s that they want to be a be a bit more reserved until they make a statement of approval. It takes its time for someone to throw their hand up in Eastbourne or Devon or Bournemouth!Do you give readings to celebrities? Derek: The celebrities I’ve done personal readings for have sworn me to secrecy, and I must respect that. A couple of years ago Robbie Williams asked if he could meet me. We arranged it very quietly. A car came to pick me up and we spent from 6pm until 1am together. I didn’t do a reading as such, we were just chatting; he was a big fan of my TV shows. The next day a tabloid ran a double-page spread about my so-called reading of Robbie, in detail. He thought I’d sold my story and he fell out with me. But he should have realised that I hadn’t done that because we never even did a reading. There were quotes about his gran and we’d never talked about her! A week later we spoke and he realised it couldn’t have come from me. He actually apologised to me on air on another chat show. Colin: If you have done readings for high-profile people, I think it’s enormously indiscreet to reveal anything about it. So I’m not a kiss-and-tell guy. But Nicholas Lyndhurst and Suzi Quatro have been very kind to give quotes about my new book, The Message. Suzi’s a very good friend, while I was very flattered that Nicholas agreed to give a quote, because away from his public persona he’s a very private man. TJ: I’m always being asked by people, how did you get involved in the media, how do you get to read famous people? But I never wanted to do all that – a famous person and an everyday Joe Bloggs are the same to me. If they’ve both got grief, there’s no difference. When people find out you’re a medium, does it alter their perception of you? TJ: It’s hard dating when you’re a medium. When you try blind dates, people think you’re a freak. I’ve been on dates where the electrics have blown, and they reckon it’s down to you, but it was just dodgy electrics. I always say I’m a medium straight away and then, if they just want a reading, you get rid of them! So I did spend quite a few years on my own – it was easier! I have a partner now, though, Jeremy. I knew him when I was a teenager, before I did all this, and he’s come back into my life. Have your psychic skills been passed on to others in your family? Derek: My wife Gwen and I have children from two different marriages and would you believe it, her 16-year-old grandson Daniel, who’s at college now, is not my blood, but he’s got the gifts. He can read jewellery, which is called psychometry. However, I’m not sure he’s likely to follow in my footsteps – he says he wants to be one of the world’s best architects! TJ: I have two sons, James, 21, and Ryan, 17. Ryan is more mediumistic than James, more connected to the spirit world. James can see, and they’re both clairvoyant, but James channels it all through emotion and music, whereas Ryan uses it in his performing arts. TJ, didn’t you successfully predict the results of The X Factor a few years ago? Yes, I went on The Xtra Factor during series two, which Shayne Ward eventually won. I went on in October, just the second week in, after only one group had left. Although there was hype around Shane, it wasn’t in the final weeks so it was still anybody’s show. I correctly predicted the top four, which were Shayne, then Andy Abraham, Journey South and Brenda Edwards.‘THE THREE MEDIUMS’ LIVE TOUR LAUNCHES AT THE HAMMERSMITH APOLLO ON SATURDAY APRIL 18. FURTHER DATES ARE AT SHEFFIELD (JUNE 17), CARDIFF (JUNE 21) AND EDINBURGH (JUNE 27). FOR MORE INFO AND TO BOOK TICKETS, VISIT WWW.THREEMEDIUMS.CO.UK OR WWW.COLINFRY.COM. WATCH ‘THE THREE MEDIUMS’ ON LIVING 2 ON MAY 24 and 25 AT 9pm.THE OLD CROWN PUBLIC HOUSE, 33 NEW OXFORD STREET, LONDON WC1A 1BH. TEL: 020 7836 9121; WWW.OLD-CROWN.CO.UK.PAN-FRIED SEA BASS ON A BED OF MINTED VEGETABLESAlthough you can buy frozen, try using fresh broad beans.4 x 250g sea bass fillets300g French beans300g mange tout3 bunches of mint1 shallot500ml double cream50ml white wine70g Parmesan cheese250g broad beans, peeled and blanched4 bunches of parsleySalt and pepperCooking oil1. Julienne the shallots and fry in a little oil. Add the white wine and reduce, add the double cream and simmer for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the broad beans in boiling salted water, then add to the shallots, along with the Parmesan. Pan-fry the sea bass fillets for about 5 minutes on each side and season to taste.2. Blanch the mange tout and the French beans then cook in a 220˚C oven for 7 minutes. Add chopped mint leaves to the vegetables, then serve topped with the sea bass.RACK OF LAMB WITH DAUPHINOISE POTATOESAdd more sugar or a little more water to the mint sauce, depending on how you like it.4 x 100-125g racks of lamb2kg baby spinach1kg baking potatoes3 cloves garlic500g Parmesan500ml double cream3 shallotsSalt and pepper200g chopped fresh mint50ml malt vinegar2 tbsps caster sugar1 tbsp vegetable oil1 tbsp extra virgin olive oilKnob of butter1. Peel the potatoes and cut into 2mm thick slices. Preheat the oven to 160˚C. Grate the garlic cloves and scrape the grated garlic into a bowl with the potatoes. Season to taste and add the chopped shallots, cream and Parmesan. Place the potato slices into the gratin dish and press down so it forms a solid layer. Bake for 45-60 minutes. 2. Heat the oil in a large pan with the butter until foaming, but not coloured. Season the racks and add to the pan, skin-side down. Seal the lamb and finish cooking in a 200˚C oven. Pan-fry the spinach in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. For the mint sauce, simmer the vinegar in a small saucepan, add the sugar and chopped mint. Simmer for about 20 minutes, then serve with the lamb and the potatoes.ETON MESS You can buy meringues, but why not try making your own with this simple recipe? 280ml double cream 50g icing sugar 1 tbsp vanilla essence 150 ml Greek yoghurt 500g strawberries For the meringues: 250 caster sugar 4 egg whites Pinch of salt 1. To prepare your meringues, simmer 225g caster sugar with 225ml of water, until the temperature reaches 118˚C. Whisk the egg whites with 25g of caster sugar and the salt. When the simmered sugar reaches 121˚C, add the egg whites. Use a piping bag to pipe the meringues and bake in the oven at 80˚C for 3½-4 hours. Leave to cool slightly. 2. Hull the strawberries and halve them. Break the meringues into pieces (not too small) and place in a bowl. Put the double cream, vanilla essence and icing sugar into another bowl and whip until reasonably stiff. Combine the cream, yoghurt, strawberries and meringue and serve in 4 bowls.